Ruth Green, his niece and closest surviving relative, finally reunited with her beloved uncle when his remains were flown to San Francisco on May 14 with military honors.
«I wanted to see the plane come in. You know, that’s what I wanted to see,» Green said. She showed up with an oxygen tube on her face, having just recovered from pneumonia, and determined to see him.
World War II veteran Helmut Fred Behlert was killed in action in 1944.Â
Green says she remembers eating ice cream with her uncle and playing games.
But it is her uncle’s generous heart Belert showed to his family, that Green remembers best.
«I just wish he could have come back and married his high school sweetheart,» Green said. «They were going to get married and then when he enlisted, he told his girlfriend he wanted to make sure his mother was protected.»Â
A DNA clue matches the missing
Green’s brother, Leo M. Houweling, who was Behlert’s nephew, immediately submitted a DNA sample.
Behlert’s mother, brother and sister had all died.Â
«You know the old adage in the military is leave no soldier behind and this was a great example of what our country can do,» former Congresswoman Jackie Speier said. «There’s a whole agency called the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) and it does this all the time.»
«What made this so touching is we brought someone home who was lost in effect,» Speier said.
At the chapel, there was a military ceremony, including a gun salute and the playing of Taps.
And finally at home.Â
